London (AFP) – European stock markets steadied Thursday after solid gains in Asia, as markets increasingly expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates next month. Wall Street was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. London dipped as markets digested the UK government’s tax-raising budget unveiled Wednesday. The measures reassured markets, with UK government bond yields and the pound steady. Paris equities flattened and Frankfurt edged higher in midday deals.
“European markets are showing a distinct lack of direction…and traders shouldn’t expect too much given a threadbare economic calendar and US Thanksgiving market closure,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets. With recent worries over stretched valuations appearing to be on the back burner, sentiment has been lifted on trading floors this week, boosting riskier assets, including bitcoin. The cryptocurrency, which recently plunged to a seven-month low just above $80,000 amid the recent market swoon, rose back above $90,000 on Thursday. However, it is still off its record high above $126,200 touched in early October.
Comments from Fed officials and a string of weak US jobs reports have reinforced expectations that the central bank’s next policy meeting in December will end with a third successive reduction in borrowing costs. Markets are now pricing in around an 80-percent chance of a cut on December 10 and a further three next year. That compares with just three reductions in total that Bloomberg said had been previously expected. All three main indices on Wall Street pushed higher for a fourth-straight day Wednesday ahead of the holiday.
Tokyo led the way in Asia on Thursday, climbing more than one percent, while Hong Kong and Shanghai closed higher. On the downside, Tokyo-listed beer titan Asahi fell as it said it would delay its financial results owing to a cyberattack that began in September. The maker of Asahi Super Dry, one of Japan’s most popular beers, announced it was experiencing system troubles on September 29, stopping its ability to receive orders and to ship products. It blamed a ransomware attack.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange Upbit said it had suspended deposits and withdrawals following an unauthorized transfer of about $37 million of digital assets. The announcement came as it emerged that its parent Dunamu would be bought by Naver Financial, one of the country’s top tech giants, in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Upbit is the world’s fourth-largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume.
– Key figures at around 1100 GMT –
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,673.21 points
Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,096.43
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 23,781.52
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 50,167.10 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 25,945.93 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,875.26 (close)
New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 47,427.12 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1588 from $1.1598 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3228 from $1.3239
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.27 yen from 156.42 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.61 pence from 87.60 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $62.68 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $58.85 per barrel
© 2024 AFP
